Roger Penske

Roger Penske is one of the most successful racing car and track owners in the world of motorsports, first gaining fame as a racer in his own right in the late 1950s. Penske was named 1961's SCCA Driver of the Year by Sports Illustrated, and retired from driving a few years later to create one of the winningest franchises in the history of competitive sports.

Appeal

For women who enjoy the thrill of high speeds and dangerous curves, Roger would qualify as an ideal man. Taking into account his multi-billion dollar business interests, even more ladies would find hanging out at a racetrack with him quite stimulating.

Success

As a successful driver in the early '60s, Roger was named Sports Car Driver of the Year by Sports Illustrated, New York Times and Los Angeles Times, as well as the U.S. Auto Club's road-racing champion of 1962.

Since he founded the Penske racing team in the mid-'60s, he has built one of the most successful sports dynasties in history, and set just about every Indy racing record in the books.

Penske Racing holds Indy car records for most race wins to date (119), most poles (140) and Indy Car National Championships (11), including six out of seven seasons from 1977 to 1983.

Penske Racing has also celebrated more than 30 victories in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series, two Can-Am championships, and three Trans-Am titles. The team's two entries into Formula One racing made them one of only three Formula One Grand Prix's won by an American team. Despite all these incredible achievements, Penske Racing is most famous for its 13 Indianapolis 500 victories, between 1972 through their most recent win in 2003.

Team Penske's amazing winning percentage is comparable to the top sports dynasties of all time. Its record 11 Indy Car National Championships in 35 years breaks down to a winning percentage of almost 32%, placing Roger's dynasty in a league with the New York Yankees (26 Championships in 88 years, or 29.5%), Boston Celtics (16 Championships in 55 years, or 29%) and the Montreal Canadiens (23 championships in 91 years, or 25.2%). It's no small wonder that Penske was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in the '90s.

Roger Penske Biography

Roger S. Penske was born on February 20, 1937, in Shaker Heights, Ohio. His passion for cars began at an early age. His father, a corporate executive for a metal fabrication company, had always told him that he could own anything he earned enough money to buy, and over a 10-year period, Penske purchased, raced and sold for profit about three dozen vehicles.

In 1958, at the age of 21, he drove his first official race in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) National in Maryland. The following year, he won his first race at the SCCA Regional in Connecticut, and graduated from Lehigh University in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.A. in industrial management.

roger penske & his zerex special

In 1960, Penske won F Modified, and with his notorious car, known as the Zerex Special, he won three nationals in a row in 1961. He made his Formula One debut that same year, and was named Sports Illustrated's SCCA Driver of the Year.

In 1962, he drove in Monaco and the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, and became the D Modified champ in '63.

During the Bahamas Speed Week of 1964, Penske won the Nassau Tourist Trophy, beating out top drivers such as AJ Foyt and Bruce McLaren, while his win in the Governor's Trophy race established his reputation as one of the world's best racers.

roger penske heads to indianapolis 500

In 1965, Penske retired from driving in order to focus on the business side of racing, and purchased a Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia. The following year, he formed a partnership with engineer/driver Mark Donohue, and launched Penske Racing.

In 1968, Penske Racing entered Indy car racing with Donohue behind the wheel, and debuted at the Indianapolis 500 in 1969. That same year, Roger established the Penske Corporation.

penske wins nascar

In 1971, Penske Racing won the SCCA Trans-Am Championship for AMC, and the team celebrated its first Indianapolis 500 victory the following year. 1973 saw Penske Racing's first NASCAR win at the Winston Western 500 in Riverside, California.

Penske founded Penske Cars Ltd. in Poole, England, in '74, and entered Grand Prix racing. Unfortunately, he lost driver and close friend Donohue in a car crash, which occurred during a practice run at the Austrian Grand Prix Formula One race in 1975.

In 1976, Penske Racing returned to Austria, where driver John Watson won the organization's sole Formula One victory.

team penske's rick mears & bobby unser

By 1977, 40-year-old Penske was newly married to his second wife, Kathryn, who was expecting a baby. He considered the notion of standing in the pits for six dozen races a year hectic, so he closed down his Formula One shop in the UK to focus on Indy racing.

Team Penske continued to ride high during the late '70s and early '80s, picking up three consecutive national points championships, twice (1977-'79, and 1981-'83). The team celebrated a second Indianapolis 500 victory in 1979 with driver Rick Mears, and a third in 1981 with Bobby Unser.

team penske wins big in 1994

In 1982, Penske became chairman of the board of Penske Truck Leasing Corporation. Team Penske went on to several more victories at Indianapolis, winning four out of five times between 1984 through 1988, thanks to drivers Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser.

After an eighth win in 1991, the team celebrated its 25th anniversary at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway in style, with its ninth win, courtesy of driver Emerson Fittipaldi in '93.

More than three decades into his career, Penske had one of his greatest seasons in 1994. His three drivers (Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy and Al Unser, Jr.) finished first, second and third in five races, combined to win 12 out of 16 races, and earned 10 pole-starting positions. Al claimed the team's tenth win at Indianapolis and also won the national points championship.

penske boycotts the indianapolis 500

In 1995, speedway president Tony George inaugurated an all-oval series, dubbed the Indy Racing League, which included the Indianapolis 500. Penske, along with other founding members and team owners in the established CART series, boycotted the race over the next few years.

Driver Gil de Ferran gave Roger Penske his 100th overall win in May 2000, while Indy rookie Helio Castroneves marked Penske Racing's triumphant return to Indianapolis with victories in 2001 and 2002.

De Ferran won Penske his lucky 13th Indianapolis 500 race in 2003, making it three for three in the new millennium.

In addition to his record-breaking sports franchise and multi-billion dollar business interests, as chairman of the Detroit Super Bowl XL Host Committee, Penske is also currently focusing on preparing his hometown for the 2006 Super Bowl.